Expansió, crisi i transformació de la viticultura catalana. Les comarques del Penedès i l'Anoia (1814-1914)

Abstract

Catalan viticulture experienced a major important expansion throughout the 19th century, related to the exportation of its wines to the American and French mar¬kets. The invasion of phylloxera and the consequent destruction of Catalonia's vineyards ended this expansion. The cri¬sis was exacerbated by the collapse in wine prices and the glut on of interna¬tional markets. The replanting of the vineyards involved a major technical change and at the same time, had significant social costs, such as the demise of traditional agricultural contracts and strong migration to the new industrial hubs that were taking shape in Catalonia. In the wake of the crisis, the demands of important sections of the peasantry be¬came politicized, and linked to the federal republican movement, and forms of asso¬ciation and organization developed, while traditional forms of peasant protest per¬sisted.